The comparisons in Table 1 show that the popular textbook by Rowling
has a lower cover price than MacKay's new work.
However, the prospective buyer should take into account
the significantly greater length of MacKay's text:
both textbooks have a cost per page of about 5 pence.

In terms of user-friendliness, MacKay's text has the
edge when it comes to its thorough index, the rich use
of figures, the provision of free software for the use of
the reader, and the profusion of examples and exercises, many with worked solutions.

A strong selling point for MacKay's book is its free availability for
online viewing. Unlike Rowling, who is notoriously secretive
about her textbooks before they are published, MacKay
made his entire book available online while it was a work in progress.

A possible weakness of MacKay's product is that it is only available in
hardback.
Native speakers of Latin may also prefer Rowling's text, since
a full translation into Latin is now available.

The issue that must clinch the choice, however, is availability.
Our reviewer tried to purchase both texts from Barnes and Noble on Mon 5/1/04,
and found that the Rowling text is not available.1